LOS ANGELES, July 29,
2011 /PRNewswire/ --Continuing to bolster its senior
executive team, the newly minted ABA Classics division has
appointed recently retired NFL star of 14 years Ephraim Salaam
and
veteran sports, entertainment and media attorney/executive Jeffrey
Benz to senior management positions within the division's front
office. The announcement was made on July 29 by ABA Classics
partners Deon Taylor and J. Erving.

Jeff Benz will assume
the post of Executive Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs.
Ephraim Salaam will serve as Creative Executive and Creative
Consultant.

Last month Joe Newman,
Chairman/CEO of the American Basketball Association, Inc. (ABA),
Deon Taylor, CEO of Ether Sports Marketing, LLC (EMC), and J. Erving,
CEO of 6Sports, LLC (6Sports) announced the creation of a new ABA
division, branded as ABA Classics. Newman remains Chairman
and CEO of the ABA. However, ABA Classics will have a
separate management structure from the ABA and will be led by Deon
Taylor and J. Erving, along with Jeff Benz and Ephraim Salaam.

Jeff Benz is an
accomplished sports, entertainment, technology, and media attorney
and executive, having served in a number of senior management
positions in these industries over the past 17 years.

Most recently he was
COO and General Counsel of a San Francisco and Shanghai-based mobile
commerce company. Previously, Benz was Chief Administrative Office,
General Counsel, and Secretary of the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour,
based in Los Angeles, where, among other things, he oversaw this
public company's administrative operations, negotiated substantial
sponsorship, broadcast, and event agreements.

Prior to the AVP, Benz
was COO and head of legal and business affairs for A2 Holdings, LLC,
a Los Angeles-based, venture-backed startup led by former KingWorld
CEO Michael King to promote the sport of boxing through television
and other media.

Benz spent the previous
six years as General Counsel, Managing Director of Legal and
Government Affairs, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Ethics Officer
for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), where he oversaw all
business and legal affairs, including negotiating and documenting
over $500 million in sponsorships and licensing, a $2 billion
television rights deal for broadcasting the 2010 and 2012 Olympic
Games in the United States, and numerous media deals for film,
television, and the web featuring the Olympic Games. While at the
USOC, Jeff also oversaw the brand development and protection
efforts.

Benz began his career
at a small San Francisco law firm before moving to the large
international law firm Coudert Brothers where he developed the
firm's worldwide sports practice group and was responsible for
generating a number of substantial project finance and commercial
representation work relating to high profiles sports leagues and
events worldwide. He also represented athletes and sports governing
bodies, and he has been a professional boxing promoter. Admitted to
practice in California, Colorado, and Hawaii, Benz is an
accomplished sports, entertainment, and commercial arbitrator and
mediator with the American Arbitration Association, Court of
Arbitration for Sport, Hong Kong International Arbitration Center,
Republic of China Arbitration Association, London Court of
International Arbitration, and ICC-USCIB.

Ephraim Salaam is a
rare athlete who truly welcomes the spotlight both on and off the
field. His megawatt smile and quick wit were unparalleled in the
NFL, and he has fourteen successful seasons with 163 games to back
up his banter.

Salaam was selected by
Atlanta in the seventh round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He started all
19 games during his rookie season, regular and postseason, and is
only the fourth player in league history to accomplish this feat.
That same year, he was part of an offensive line that helped the
Falcons advance to Super Bowl XXXIII against the Broncos. This
former foe then turned to friend when Salaam signed with Denver in
2002.

For someone who played
a classically thankless role on the field, Salaam knows how to draw
the cameras and columnists. Salaam's "off the cuff" style and quick
wit has led to numerous television appearances nationwide. Among
those opportunities Ephraim had been a recurring host and
correspondent for Fox's "Best Damn Sports Show Period" and he has
also been a guest host, correspondent and resident movie critic for
the NFL Network's "Total Access."

He expanded his
on-camera resume with a foray into acting on the CW hit sitcom
"The
Game." During Super Bowl XLII, with 97.5 million viewers, Ephraim
starred in the NFL's Super Ad Commercial, where viewers were able to
see another side of his magnetic personality. Following the hit
commercial Ephraim was contacted by his newest fan, "Ellen DeGeneres" who brought him on her show after recognizing his star
quality. After a memorable performance, Ellen permanently hired
Ephraim as one of her correspondents for the "The Ellen Show."

As a follow up to his
2008 NFL Super Ad, Ephraim also starred in the NFL's 2009 NFL Super
Ad promotional commercial, which aired for months on every major
television network, encouraging fans to vote for the next Super Ad.
Ephraim has also been a correspondent for ESPN during the ESPY
Awards for the past three years. This past season Ephraim was
featured on ESPN's MNF Countdown, "For Love of the Game" and during
the 2009 playoffs, Ephraim was a guest host on FOX 11 Los Angeles
and continues to entertain locally and nationally.

The ABA Classics
season is slated to start in mid-June 2012. Plans are to have 12
ABA Classics teams, which will be grouped into two sub-divisions
of six teams each. The league is in the process of determining the
number of games per team in a season and currently entertaining
offers from several cities and potential franchise owners for teams.

Open tryouts are
anticipated to begin in April 2012, followed by a draft in May 2012.
Training camps will open immediately thereafter in preparation for
the mid-June 2012 season start.

About American
Basketball Association, Inc.

(ABA): The ABA is the
largest professional sports league in the US with over ninety (90)
teams based in the US and internationally. It is also the most
diverse professional sports league in history with over 75% of its
teams owned by women and minorities. The ABA has made professional
basketball fan-friendly and affordable and its teams are committed
to working closely with the youth in their communities. The ABA
provides over 1000 players, 200 coaches and 200 referees the
opportunity to work and compete at the professional level.

About Ether
Sports Marketing, LLC (Ether):

Ether is the owner of
the exclusive license with the ABA to manage ABA Classics. Ether is
led by Hollywood director and CEO Deon Taylor, and is run out of
Sacramento and Los Angeles.

About 6Sports,
LLC (6Sports):

Led by successful
entrepreneur and music industry veteran J. Erving, 6Sports is a
multi-platform sports and entertainment company that offers a wide
selection of services to professional athletes, drawing upon the
founders' considerable success in the music industry. The company
identifies opportunities and executes strategies to expand clients'
brands into ancillary markets.